Are Modern Wars Not Holy Wars?

Outlines
1. Introduction
1.1: A brief history of religion and its role in wars.
1.2: A bird’s eye view of contemporary wars.

2.Thesis Statement
The Political and economic interests behind modern wars, ranging from
ousting an unfriendly government abroad to securing favorable economic deals, set
modern wars far away from the ambit of holy wars.

3. Political Interests behind modern wars expel them from the scope of holy
wars
3.1: War between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Yemen make for gaining political leverage in
the region make it purely a war of interest rather than a holy war.
3.2: Turkey and Russia’s proxy war for setting a friendly government in Libya.
3.3: Iran and United States war in Syria is also an example of a politically motivated
war.

4. Economic Interest behind modern wars set a holy war and modern war miles
apart

4.1: China and United States are fighting an undeclared war in Africa for economic
gains.
4.2: South East Asia is also a war ground for United States and China for commercial
benefits.

5. Conclusion
 Are Modern Wars Not Holy Wars?
Just a glance of human history will reveal the fact that it is fraught with fire and blood. Countless wars
have been fought by humans against their own race. Religion in these wars played a decisive role and
remained a bone of contention for centuries. Many of these wars are considered holy wars, although all
religions have a different definition for the holy war, all have these common factors: spreading the
message of God or liberating people from the enemies of God. The Thirty Years’ War (1618 to 1648)
between Protestants and Catholics, and the wars the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) fought against
infidels, are examples of such holy wars as perceived by respective religions. However, after the signing
of the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the concept of war went under a tectonic shift. The Nation-State
system entirely secularized the concept of war, and eventually, religion started to take a back seat.
Modern wars, therefore, are primarily motivated by either political or economic interests. The two
bloodiest wars of human history, World War I (1914-18) and World War II (1939-1945), are major
examples of such wars. All contemporary wars, which are being fought in Yemen, Libya and Syria, are all
motivated by the political interests of the belligerents. Economic interest is another cause of modern
wars bet it an undeclared war between the United States and China in Africa or in South East Asia over
natural resources. Hence, the political and economic interests behind modern wars, ranging from
ousting unfriendly government abroad to securing favorable economic deals, set modern wars far
away from the ambit of holy wars.